October 2021 Links, News, and Stuff Like That

October Has Been Going Well

I don't know about you, but October has been going pretty well for me. After a slog of a September I'm enjoying being in this lovely month. I thought I'd share some interesting news and link with you all as I occasionally do. Here we go...

Links For You

In its earliest days, Adult Swim seemed like this weird secret that few talked about. It was quite a trip. I remember the first time I witnessed shows like, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," and it blew my mind.

Before James Mangold worked with Hugh Jackman on one good Wolverine movie ("The Wolverine,") and one amazing one ("Logan,") they first worked together on the decent romantic comedy, "Kate & Leopold." I did not realize Mangold directed that movie so this article about it was interesting.

The Comic's Journal has a good article breaking down some of the legalese and drama surrounding the latest copyright wars between creators' families and Marvel/Disney.

I loved OutKast when it was putting out music. One half of the duo, Big Boi, is still out there rapping a lot. He appears on the new song, "Garden Party," and delivers a lovely (as well as saucy) verse. He's still got it!

While we're on the subject of music, I loved Kacey Musgrave's new album, "Star-Crossed," but observed it didn't sound too country in genre. I still thought it would count as a country album, however. The Grammys (which suck, but whatever) disagree. They are going to call it a pop album, I guess.

New York Comic-Con happened last weekend and it had winners and losers according to Comics Beat. Sounds like it was a fun show and they tried to keep everyone masked & safe.

That's it, go enjoy the Fall!

I don't have much news and links to share as other times, but quality over quantity, right? Get out there and enjoy the Fall weather, which lately seems to mean its abnormally hot or cold, but whatever.

"Hob's Lane," #1 is a Striking and Dread-Filled Debut Issue

Blue Fox Publishing/Comics consistently puts out great indie comics, many with a horror-bent. Their latest upcoming title which will be running a Kickstarter campaign in the near future is the first issue of, "Hob's Lane." Written by Martin Hayes, with art plus colors by RHStewart, and letters by Paul McLaren, I found this initial issue to be instilled with a great deal of fear, dread, and those kinds of things you'd want from a horror comic! 

A mysterious murder in a neighborhood causes London cop, Doug Kendal, to run into an old friend who lives near the scene of said crime, John Tate. Tate's wife was murdered three years ago in a mugging and since then he's fallen apart--metaphorically and as the comic goes on it seems somewhat literally. Things start a bit of a slow burn but then towards the end of the issue, the body horror really ramps up and gets fascinatingly disgusting. As this is just the first issue a lot of questions are raised with answers probably to come later.

"Hob's Lane," is a great first issue for a horror comic. It's scary, suspenseful, and has some nice gross moments to really jar the reader. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to the Kickstarter campaign!

5 out of 5 stars. 

The Fry Sauce from Freddy's is Amazing

Up until recently, I had never enjoyed Freddy's restaurant. They seem to be expanding into the Saint Louis region, however, as a number of them are opening up around us and a brand new location just started serving grub a few weeks ago. Having heard it was good, I picked some up for Samii, Clarkson, and myself. The fries are almost like a shoestring fry and very crisp, Samii liked her burger, and I found the chicken sandwich to be lovely too. What really caught my attention, however, was Freddy's fry sauce. I'm not sure what's in it, but that stuff is amazing.

Honestly, I'm not even much of a sauce person. I usually am not into the texture of something wet on my food. I didn't even start sometimes dipping my fries into ketchup until I was in my 20s. That said, something about fry sauce just sets my taste buds alight with joy. It's a bit like ketchup but has a creamy tanginess to it that grabs your attention. It isn't overpowering and instead compliments whatever you're eating expertly. They sell bottles of fry sauce for you to take home at Freddy's and I plan to buy one soon and put it on an assortment of foods that would benefit from the yummy taste of fry sauce.

Note: This is an opinion post. I was not paid by Freddy's for writing about how amazing their fry sauce is, but if they want to send me some for free I would gladly accept it!

Thanks to Everyone Who Tuned in for my First Whatnot Show!

I just want to thank everyone who had a chance to check out my show on Whatnot today. It had a great number of viewers and I made some sweet deals with everyone! I hope to do more shows in the future with cool comics so if you have Whatnot keep your eyes peeled for the next time I schedule going live (I'll alert people on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook too, of course).

I'll be at the Saint Charles Quad Con a Week from Today!

Next Sunday is the Saint Charles Quad Con and I'm excited to attend. I'll be there at the Olympia Event Centre located at 49 Lawrence Street in Saint Charles, Missouri  63301. It'll run from 10AM-4PM with a $5 entry fee (it is free after 2:30 PM plus kids 10 and under are free along with active military). There will be video0games, sci-fi items, role-playing games, board games, vintage magazines, posters, and of course comics upon comics! 

Also, Quad Con raises money for the Helping Hannah's Heart Foundation with a live auction at every con that takes place before the costume parade at 1:30 PM. With an assortment of vendors, there are pop culture collectibles from 1900 to today priced from $1 to rare and pricey stuff! Plus, I'm excited to report that comic artist Rags Morales is going to be at the show!  Rags will be signing, sketching, and giving a panel discussion with a quick Q&A around 11:00 AM. The show is sure to be a lot of fun and I am eager to go and report on it!

Bobby Flay is Leaving Food Network

I greatly enjoy watching Food Network and even read a biography of the channel itself--which was fascinating. There have been some major personalities at Food Network who have come and gone, or arrived and stayed. Emeril was huge but just didn't evolve with the network and found himself left behind. Now, someone who did a great job evolving with the network, Bobby Flay, seems to be leaving. He had been there since 1994 and after 27 years a deal could not be worked out for his contract to be renewed. There could be a last-minute change, but as of now, Flay will be able to go do a show somewhere else (I imagine a lot of streaming services would be happy to scoop him up).

People who watch Food Network seem to either love or absolutely despise Flay. I don't mind him. I also don't purposely seek a show out just because he is involved either. He's moving on though, and it marks the end of an era at Food Network. Guy Fieri isn't going anywhere though, it seems, so if you love the mayor of Flavortown you can rest easy.

My Review of, "Ballad for Sophie," is up on FOG!

I contributed another review to Forces of Geek; I shared my thoughts on the original graphic novel, "Ballad for Sophie," over on their site! Seeing as you're reading my website I assume you like my writing, so check out what I have to say about that comic over on their website. I'm just all over the internet!

Flashback Friday AND Film Friday: "Euro Trip," is an Underrated Gem of a Movie

Hey, remember how miserable the, "American Pie," movies were? They were just basically gross-out humor with little deeper jokes or meaning. Do you also recall the movie, "Road Trip," that came out and how it was basically an imitation? If any of that rings a bell you just might remember, "Euro Trip," from 2004 and how against all logic it is actually absolutely hilarious and clever. Yes, seriously, a sort of sequel to a pale imitation of something that already sucked is in fact often genius and funny. I know, it's weird.

"Euro Trip," centers on a bunch of friends going to Europe so a man can meet his internet pen pal after having a misunderstanding with her so he can apologize for being rude. They take this trip after he learns his girlfriend has been cheating on him when a band (fronted by a cameoing Matt Damon) sings a song all about how she's two-timing him titled, "Scotty Doesn't Know." That's clever, and it just gets sillier. We meet soccer hooligans with hearts of gold, witness a bunch of jokes about the strength of the American dollar in Eastern Europe at the time, and there is a surreally ingenious bit about the Pope and people thinking a new one has been appointed. There's still gross-out humor and sex jokes aplenty, but they're clever gross-out humor and sex jokes mixed in with the smarter bits.

I personally believe that, "Euro Trip," was dismissed before it could have a chance. It has tons of negative reviews, absolutely bombed in theaters, and plenty of folks still only vaguely recall it as even existing. It has fans though, as this article in 2014 observed when it turned 10 years old. Man, I saw this for the first time in theaters back in 2004? I am old. That doesn't take away from the fact that even if some jokes in the movie haven't aged well a lot of this flick still stands up today 17 or so years later. I will still always contend, however, that the, "American Pie," movies this somewhat sprang from are absolute garbage besides some diamond in the rough aspects--Eugene Levy is always a treasure, after all.

It's Happening! I'll Be Selling on Whatnot

First off, thank you to my readers for helping follow me on Whatnot. As I got some more followers and submitted some funny videos showing off my cool comics I have now been approved to sell on Whatnot. They were impressed with my blog's popularity and how I have an exemplary selling history on sites like eBay, so here we are. I actually made a little video to promote my first show:

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A post shared by David Bitterbaum (@thenewestrant)

That's right, this coming Monday, October 11th, 2021 at 11AM Central I will be doing my first show. There are going to be all kinds of neat and hot comics from my collection and I have one awesome book given to me by my friends at Altered State Comics (shout-out to them), but that won't be revealed until later.  you were debating what time to take your lunch break Monday do it then. If you were going to sleep in absurdly late, wake up at that time. If you're spending time with loved ones tell them to hush up for an hour or so and tune in, etc. Even if you don't buy anything my sheer absurdity and general eccentric nature should entertain you.

Penguin Random House Did Not Have a Good First Week Shipping Comics

As I and others have extensively covered, Marvel switched to Penguin Random House as its comic publisher/distributor. IDW is planning to switch to it too in June of 2022. PRH has a plum gig here and they just have to not screw it up. Hence, in their first week of actually shipping comics, they have screwed some stuff up. That's how things go sometimes.

PRH sent that first batch of comics out this week and some big shipments were outright lost. Ones that arrived where they needed to were often not packed that great and damages were extensive. Stores are upset, customers are mad, and PRH has a lot of comics to refund and/or replace. Diamond was known for not shipping comics the best, so when they look golden compared to you, that's bad. They need to get their act together quickly or this could turn into a major fiasco. Perhaps they should see how Lunar is packaging things with care currently and follow suit? I am quite sure there will be more on this as it develops.